A research, regarding professional vegetable cultivations in greenhouses, carried out by our project group with the help of Mr. Dimitris Mamalos, a professional organic cultivator, has shown that from a 4.000 sqm plot one can expect an annual net profit of about 20.000 euros.

Prerequisites for professional cultivators to be

• feasibility study regarding the investment capital demanded
• private, irrigated plot(cooperation of 2-3 owners is also possible, see blog post: /2013/03/13/about-cooperatives
• knowledge regarding of vegetables that grow in the area, soilandclimate conditions
• infrastructure costresearch
• research on whereandhowto sell
• research on waysandcosts for organic certification
• knowledge of agriculture practices which will help minimize mistakes (participation in seminars, cooperation with specialists, consulting local Agriculture Departments could provide help)
• consulting scientists, at least at the beginning, so that healthy development of plants is ensured
• considering plot distance from home, as distance factor differentiates costs
• research on waysand cost of issuing alicensefor selling vegetables.
• research on potential access to subsidy/support programs

How to make the business as profitable as possible

• cultivate vegetables that do not need heating in winter
• get early crops
• sell production directly to markets, detouring middlemen
• get vegetables organically certified

The above costs might have a 10-20% deviation.

The above vegetables are just samples, the ones we chose for our research. The net profit has been calculated given that there is no production loss. In case of organic cultivation the net profit could increase by about 25% and reach 25000 €. The above net profit can be achieved on the condition that it's a family business employing 2-3 family members.